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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 3:56:23 GMT -5
Leoxander watched as the dog stopped in the street lamp light, ears perked, head up, searching. Plumey tail began to wag, and it was clear Jack smelled someone. Now where the heck was that lady..?
Tenebrae stood, having been bent to the body of a goblin, fingers rifling through the folds of it's cowled garment. At the sound of a familiar bark, she turned quickly, eyes darting self-consciously about. "Jack!" She beamed, her fondness for the mutt no secret. "I suppose your master won't be far behind..." As if she didn't know.
Leoxander 's dog went bounding over to the woman with tongue lolled, head high, his most handsome approach. Leo calmly took a seat on a forgotten pile of old rotting wooden crates, just inside a near alley, his eyes on the necromancer. He was just watching her, for now...
Tenebrae 's slender thighs came to rest upon her heels as she knelt to twine her fingers to the black dog's ruff, scruffling the fur hard, something Jack liked very much judging from the way his hind leg rose and twitched. She turned her face up and away from his lapping tongue, nose wrinkling slightly. "Ugh, no you don't!", she chided, though the tone wasn't harsh by any description. One arm circling his neck, she gazed out into the darkness. She could feel Leo nearby, no worries, and could only assume that his absence was by choice. She shrugged inwardly, slighted not. After all, his motives were his own, and she was fairly certain he held no ill-will toward her. Reaching to her pack, she palmed a treat for the dog, holding it out for him. "Sausage, Jack?"
Leoxander was actually surprised the vampiress couldn't see him sitting there, in the distance, cloaked in shadow. His eyes seemed to penetrate the night so much more clearly, now. But he chose to remain there, studying her frame in the dim light of the street like an intricate painting, his palms on the edge of those crates. The prospect of sausage had Jack sitting, obediently, at once, to show her what a well behaved individual he was. Leo took a slow breath of the night air, summoning the courage to speak.
Tenebrae crooned words of approval as Jack displayed his manners, lowering the cooked meat to his reach at once. As he took it and trotted off, she lost sight of him... that blasted illusionist's feat and resultant blow to the head having put dampers on her night-vision temporarily. Still, she knew Leo was close, could sense the warmth of his pulse in her own. She sat to the ground, knees raised before her, arms twined about them and rested her chin on her folded hands. He'd come to her, when he was ready.
Leoxander didn't move forward just yet. He exhaled deep spoken words that fogged in the chill of that atmosphere. "...Everytime I closed my eyes last night, to try to sleep..." He began slowly, his words no longer muffled, indicating his mask was being removed. "...I saw you." The finish was quiet, almost afraid to speak the bitter truth. Leo couldn't get this woman out of his mind. She was in and under his skin... literally. He hadn't slept, much.
Tenebrae hadn't been expecting that. Speechless, she sat, gathering her thoughts. Sure, they'd been having fun -- apart from the Leo-almost-dying part -- and got along like blazes. Even flirted a bit, harmlessly, only natural between two attractive people as they were. But this ... So unlike his usual carefree and - she'd assumed - conscience-less self... It had to be the thrall. A ragged sigh escaped her lips, and she lowered her forehead to her knees. Her voice was low, hardly heard from under the curve of her body. "Leo.. I can't see you. Come, sit by me?" She didn't care that she was in the street, sat among the carnage of her hunt. Her mind reeled, and the vampiress could only wait for him to be near.
Leoxander could try to hold onto his independence and pride all he wanted. But when she spoke that soft beckon, he was disarmed. She was like a subtle addiction, it seemed. Nothing extreme, but just being in her presence seemed to ease his nerves, an anxiety that he wasn't used to having. A soft sound of weight shifting off wood was heard, before the silhouette of his frame melted from the shadows, approaching with hood drawn back. Street lights highlighted the outline of messy blonde hair, but his eyes were rimmed in circles, and his face was dark with a well passed five o'clock shadow.
Leoxander didn't stop until he was at her side, and rather than sit, he crouched down near her in the street, head bowing forward, almost in some awkward show of reverence, to anyone witnessing the two. An arm rested on the bend of his knee.
Tenebrae raised her head at the faint sound, the tall figure approaching coming to clearer focus as he stepped into the light. Her emerging smile, soft and delicate at the corners of her mouth, faded as she noted the roughness of his appearance, more tousled even than usual, that haunted look in his bi-hued eyes. Yep. It was the thrall alright, had to be. Unfurling her body, she stretched out her legs, a hand raised to him.
Tenebrae touched his cheek as he kneeled by her, stroking the roughness of it with care. "Leo, you have to take the cure. You're healed now. You don't need my blood in you, it could eat you alive, eventually. Will you do that, for me?" Her glacial eyes looked into his, the appeal echoed in their crystalline depths.
Leoxander wasn't sure what he wanted from her. Nearness was usually enough. And it was a terrible sensation to someone who had never depended on anything other than the dog always at his side. Even now, Jack watched from his rest on a cobblestone curb, chewing thistles out of his fur with dark eyes on the two humanoids. Leo's hand, gloved in fingerless black leather, reached for hers, rough digits curling around her grasp to bring her palm toward his face, skull lifting. Yes, the human was smelling the lines of her hand, his eyes closing before her fingertips would press against lowered lids. It was like he was absorbing that aroma. And yeah, it was odd behavior, but then, his senses were so extremely heightened, that even the scent of her helped ...whatever need he felt. "...Cure..? This... this isn't a curse, is it?"
Leoxander lifted his eyes to peer at her features, through her fingers. He was entranced with what he found there, too, but he still tried to reason with his better sense of judgement. What was wrong with him..?
Tenebrae 's breath caught in her throat, as her hand traced the lines and curves of his features. He was beautiful, but that beauty depended not just on his flesh. He was lovely, in the way something wild is lovely; a creature that, once caged, would become something far more ordinary. She'd not allow that to happen, not to him. She drew his other hand toward her own face, a light kiss pressed to his palm. "Yes, Leo, it's a curse. You're not yourself, and whatever you feel for me is merely the hunger of the thrall, eating at your will." The necromancer's eyes glistened, but she did not turn away. "I'll not own you. Take the cure, sweetness. It's the only way."
Leoxander watched her with that casual and sometimes eerie calm, his eyes of warm and cold colors blinking languidly, despite his intent stare. Tips of messy blonde hair blew forward over them soon enough with a gust of wind, no hood to protect. His jaw came into better definition the moment he clenched his teeth, speaking through them... almost angrily. "...Why are you pushing me away? ...-You- did this." It was the bitter truth, barely uttered. So it was a curse. So he was the result of tainted blood drawing him near her. But he'd submitted and gone to that call, walked across the city to find her, and it was a pain in the core of his stomach to hear her tell him she couldn't help his problem.
Tenebrae rose to her own knees, her hand falling from his face, though the other she kept against her own. "Yes, Leo, I did this. To save you, not to keep you as my slave." But had she, really? So very tempting ... But no, she knew his pain, knew it would only increase as time went by. Knew, too, that the Leo she'd met wouldn't desire the life of a vampire. She leaned in, pressing her lips to his softly, tender kiss to sooth his rage. Drawing back, her voice came as a heated whisper against his mouth. "Drink the dragon's wine, for me." In that breathy exchange was a sibilant command, an arcane bending of will. The power of the vampire mistress. How she hated to use it on him. "And once that's done, you'll be free to choose your own path."
Leoxander didn't alter his expression when her mouth touched to his, but his eyes followed hers specifically, locked to peridot as if charmed by the gem like color. Dragon's blood. Her words spoke the want for him to drink dragon's blood, repeating again and again in his mind. It was like a nagging plague to attempt to deny her wishes, but part of him was angry. She didn't want him. Whatever she'd done to him was nothing but an accident. As he stood slowly, looking after her, his features hardened, and even the dog whimpered lowly, feeling his human's tension. Leo spoke as he jerked twin blades into view, exposed tattooed biceps tensing. "Fine. You want me to drink dragon's blood..?" His eyes lowered to his blade, idly wondering if it would penetrate scales. Without answering the question he spoke her way, Leo turned, and began walking down the street determinedly.
Tenebrae went after him, at a run. Damn, the madness was on him, hard."Stop! You only need the wine, Leo. Don't do this..." She neared, taking his arm, swinging him around to face her. "I'll take you to it. I'll be there for you, when the pain comes...."
Leoxander didn't understand any of this. It wasn't so bad, was it? He didn't want the pain, or the plain human strength, the vulnerability he'd had. Blades were quickly drawn near to prevent accidently cutting her, pressed into the wrist guard of fingerless gloves. "I don't... -want- wine." Why didn't she understand that? His eyes squinted on hers, again enchanted with the alien beauty found there. Deep vocals would soften, for her sake, trying to sooth the frustration out of the sound of his voice. "Look, I don't know what I was thinking, okay? I'll just leave you alone..." She'd never withdrawn and pulled away from him like this before. Why now, when he needed her most? Leoxander ignored the confused bark of the dog, watching the confrontation. This made even less sense to poor old Jack.
Tenebrae curled fingers to his forearm, tight. "Stay." It was just one word, but spoken with authority. "Tell me, Leo." His answer would tell her plenty. His answer would determine his path, possibly for a very, very long time. "What exactly is it that you -do- want?"
Leoxander hardened his stare upon her with a dozen thoughts flickering across his imagination. Images of her splashing through water, the way her clothing clung. Even the darker side of an addiction, recalling the taste on his tongue the next morning, the sailor she'd lured into the cargo hold to finish off. He tried to think of a reasonable answer to a question she'd asked so simply, but his mind couldn't compete with the mix of blood making his emotions so... irrational. He only shook his head slowly, mouth opened slightly to speak, but silent, unsure what to say... Well, this is what happened when a high being experimented with the workings of a mere mortal. Leo was one of a kind, but still, only human.
Tenebrae saw it then. What she'd done. The knowledge came like the sharp slice of a knife: he'd never be the Leo she'd met, not again. It would have been better, kinder, possibly, to let him die a mortal death under the weight of those rocks in the cave. "There's another way." Her tone dropped to match his own, her arms wrapping to his waist. "Let me feed from you." The words were spoken against his throat, her lips already pressed to the taut flesh there. "And you'll be a thrall no longer. Nor mortal, either."
Leoxander would finally speak, in the silence that prevailed. An uncertain, quiet answer. "...I just want you to help me, Tenebrae." His eyes sought out some hope in hers, uncertain how she would help him, when even he couldn't comprehend what the solution was. Leoxander took a breath and held it, when she spoke words of end to his mortality. Eternal life wasn't something that appealed to a rogue with a rough life already. Fear in his eyes, he shook his head. "...I can't be what you are, Tenebrae." He couldn't hunt for something beyond treasure. He couldn't devote himself to the night. Leo wasn't strong enough for immortality, only a handful of people -truly- were.
Tenebrae lowered herself from her toes to the flat of the ground. She had her own curse to bear. The conscience she'd grown, after three hundred years of being the worst kind of predator: a true one. That was the terrible gift of the man who'd loved her .. and made her love him back. Damn his eyes. Tene's fingers slipped to the rogue's belt, the mortal-like quality she wore as a habit falling from her now, her fingers so still he'd not sense her taking the knife. Deftly, she tore it across her wrist, the blade clattering to the cobbles as she held the wound up. Her vision, already healing, took in the empty street. Let him feed, then. It was all she had left to offer.
Leoxander didn't realize how he closed in the distance between them with an instinctive lean to enjoy her scent just a little better, with his nose hovering near her brow. Not many people could pick pocket the thief, but somehow, she managed to get grasp on his blade, and it only glinted light to catch eye contact as it was slicing across her pale flesh. His brow furrowed, immediately grasping her wrist to stop her, though it was too late. Her other hand lifted, and bled before him. "...What the hell're you..?" The whispered question of disbelief faded, and his expression paled, in realization. At that point, he was ready to start trying things, and he hadn't been awake the last time they'd done this, but he remembered the sensations the next morning... Eyes drifted back and forth from the wound, to her eyes.
Tenebrae nodded, as thick crimson splashes fell from her arm to the stone paving at thier feet. She held the wound toward him, almost aggressively. "Drink, damn you. Before it goes to waste." At least he may be calmer, afterward, and they could talk more rationally. Maybe then, the feeling of lead weight in her chest would ease.
Leoxander 's brow furrowed in indecision when she thrust her wounded arm closer and demanded he comply. It couldn't hurt him, could it..? With a glare lingering on her, his hands curled around the back of her arm, and her hand, bringing the gap at her wrist toward his mouth. He visibly grimaced, the corners of his eyes crinkled with laugh lines and the edge of his mouth twisted, but with his eyes nearly closing away, he opened his mouth to take that slice into it. Tongue pressed against warm liquid, and it was an aweful, bitter taste to the human. He nearly withdrew and made a wincing expression. But adam's apple dipped with a first, forced swallow.
Tenebrae closed her eyes against the sight, the slight tremor of her shudder felt against the warmth of his mouth, closed around the wound. She'd let him take as much as he needed - he wouldn't be able to stomach more. Gods, she'd only wanted to save him... the thick tears that welled in her eyes spilled down her parchment cheeks, staining a crimson trail on that perfection. Why was it, that everything she touched was tainted, sooner or later? This, the life of the vampire; the reason she couldn't, as much as she tried, live with the carefree ease of the mortal. Darkness was her home, inside and out. It was just the way the chips had fallen.
Leoxander closed his eyes against that metal taste, drizzle of thick red spilling down either side of his mouth, onto his collar and chest, mostly on the shirt worn over his torso, loose at the neckline. No, he couldn't stomach much at all, and he nearly 'overfed' himself when he quite suddenly pulled away and held a hand to his stomach. The foreign taste, so much more than before, soured immediately inside him, at the same time leaking into his own bloodstream to course his veins, and renew the 'taint'. He doubled over in the street near her, trying to swallow the instinctive sickness.
Tenebrae would've been the first to run to his side, in any other crisis. But even that small loss of fluid - the little he'd taken, plus the larger amount spilled, now drying on the street - as well as the heady rush of the feeding, had excited her own bloodlust. Those jewel-green eyes were stark, thier pupils shrunk to pinpricks, a darker line encircling the irises, giving her a wolfish, feral appearance. A sudden glance up - the boy at the top of the belltower: spindly, unsuspecting fool, most likely thought the pair below nothing more than lovers, in the midst of thier passion, if he'd noticed them at all. It seemed she melted to the shadows then, not the way Leo had a habit of doing, but quite literally. She was there, and then she was gone. Only another of her kind would have had the senses to discern her rapid ascent, as she silently climbed the structure. And though the boy, as he was trained to do, stood with his arm wrapped to the rope of the bell, the instrument tolled not a note as she tore his throat out and in scant minutes had drained him dry, gently lowering his husk to the boards they stood on. Replenished as she'd not been for a long time, Tene's smile was lazy, satisfied, as she made the return climb, dropping the last twenty feet to land on her toes, without a sound.
Leoxander , still doubled over, pushed his hand to his knee with a low cough into his tattooed forearm, looking her way in time to see the unbelievable transformation witnessed. Magic was still a foreign topic to the rogue. The best he could do was parlor tricks and card cheats with a deck of cards. It left his eyes wide with an awed stare following the slither of those created shadows that seemed to be.... her. "...Holy mother of...." The warm whisper that fogged the air was scented of blood, and he still couldn't upright his posture from the sick sting in his gut. Collapsing into a seat on the street, he leaned back, witnessing the hunt from afar, until she went out of range of his keen sight. All the way to the sudden landing that left him... speechless, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of an arm. It still smeared on his unshaven jaw.
Tenebrae almost mirrored that exact action, as she tidied her mouth and chin of the remains of her meal. Fed - and fed well - she almost crackled with power; she wasn't just a vampire, as if that wasn't enough, but a mage of darkness, a sineater, too, and the death of the boy had fed her in far more ways than one. Tendrils of shadow curled from the corners of her mouth, escaping to fade in the cool salt air. The same darkness rose from her flesh, the way steam will rise from hoar-frosted earth on a warm winter's morning. This was the face of Tenebrae that few truly witnessed, outside of battle. There was little of the human facade left to mask her form as she strode like a force of nature across the ground to the side of her thrall. Bending, she grasped those bronzed and inked forearms, pulling him with the ease one might a small child, to his feet. Her gaze locked his, her words cutting through the night, a litany to her sorrow. "This is what I am. What I will always be, as long as I walk the world. Not real pretty, is it, Leo?"
Leoxander looked pretty freaked out, honestly. Yeah, he was a flawed man, not able to just brush off witnessing something like that like dust from his shoulder. He leaned back with his palms on the ground, looking almost ready to crawl backward away when she neared, but of course, he wouldn't pull away from her like that. He stood a little tense when she dragged him easily to his feet, wondering if she ever thought about feeding off him like that while they were traveling together that whole time. The prospect made his insides instinctively crawl. To be honest, because he knew he'd be a bad liar at that point, he shook his head to answer her final question. "...No... I can't say it is. But..." A nervous nod was pulled through. "...We are what we are..." We, in general.
Tenebrae broke into a laugh then, soft and musical, the sound suddenly evoking the girl who'd dunked him in the ocean, and turned green in the face of a storm at sea. Suddenly she was just Tene, of the sharp wit and sharper tongue, and heart soft as butter in the sun. "Yeah... I guess we are just that." She drew a soft cloth from a pocket in the folds of her cloak, dabbing at the rufous stains remaining on his cheek. "Let's get the flock out of here. I need a drink." The noise and bustle of the tavern sounded like a really good idea to her, right then.
Leoxander would even reach a hand up to her at that point, the tip of his thumb brushing just beneath those deadly lips as if in spite of himself, he couldn't help his human curiosity. Good thing he had the many lives like a cat had, to die with. "That... sounds like a plan." Good and drunk was exactly how he needed to be after the past couple of days, but already, perhaps from the effect of her blood, he was feeling better.
Tenebrae grinned, tweaking a strand of that tousled mane of his, and took off into the dark at a swift jog, her voice trailing faintly to him through the fog. "Kelay! Race you..."
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 4:11:19 GMT -5
Tenebrae was grateful they'd not strolled through that scene, and for the crisp saline breeze that blew now, ruffling her sleek ebon hair. "Leo... " She clears her throat. "Never mind. I'd like to see the horizon. From the cliffs."
Leoxander held her arm against his side just a little tighter as they passed the scene. He was quiet, watchful, the usual demeanor expected of the rogue, though his name relaxed his thoughts, and brought his attention to her. Brows lifted in question, but his response was easy going. "Whatever you wish..." His eyes lingered upon her, a thoughtful look in dark blue and faded red color.
Leoxander lifted his attention to the details he could barely see in the dark. His senses were still sharpened, but not as heightened as the night after he'd been dosed the necromancer's blood. Still, he could smell the ocean in the distance, even if he couldn't see it's horizon in that hour of night.
Tenebrae took a glance up at the belltower, and ... was that a smirk on those rosy lips? Seemed greenling youths were a dime a dozen in this town. Metal heels rang out on the cobbled stones, the necromancer unmindful of who might be alerted to their presence. She glanced from time to time toward Leo, and to Jack, who romped along beside them.
Leoxander was at ease with her. He couldn't say that about many. And it showed in the relaxed color of his eyes, even that red stained result of messing with the wrong person. Jack was enjoying the scents, nose high in the air, trotting after the pair. Leo's steps were silent as ever, no longer leaving mud in his wake, now that they were on cobblestone roads, and not the more difficult terrain he usually wandered - offroads.
Leoxander wouldn't stop to speak the words he murmured along their way. "Line, huh?" It was the first attempt for conversation the rogue made, really.
Tenebrae breathed deeply, exhaling in a soft sigh. Leo might have felt her tension melt, the muscles of her arm at last releasing thier battle-readiness, signalling a change of demeanour altogether. On they walked, seeming like any couple might on a moonlight stroll. One would look on, and smile, perhaps, unknowing of the darknesses held within each of the handsome pair.
Tenebrae looked to him quizzically. "Line?"
Leoxander wasn't all that dark. Really. He was just misunderstood. Sure, maybe a few of his corners had yet to be swept of mischief and evil, but all and all, the human was just looking to survive. And being fair and righteous never really worked too well for that. As he looked back her way with a smirk, he'd continue down the street. The question almost seemed... amused. "...You really married..?"
Tenebrae shook her head. "Not married." She looked to the road, seeming to suddenly need to pick her way through the stones. Those heels and all.... "I am bonded, to Castellian D'Onri, though."
Leoxander felt that relaxation and happiness dwindle, slightly, when she cast her eyes down at the road. His shoulders shrugged, as if to shrug the matter aside, listening to her words, though making himself seem careless, as was habit. "I guess it ain't none'o my business, really." The nearer shoulder nudged hers, trying to coax a smile back.
Tenebrae grinned, and nudged him back. "I have a secret to tell you. A big one. But not until we get to the cliff." Her arm dropped from his, only for slender fingers to grasp his own and tug him forward along the rise of the road.
Leoxander went willingly, a lopsided grin showing through. "This ain't the sorta secret that someone's gonna kill me for, is it?" Hey, a thief like him always had to look before he leapt, y'know?
Tenebrae shook her head again, and laughed. "Quite possibly..." She didn't elaborate, just urged him on again, a wild sort energy springing up within her, evident in the flash of fang and glint of amber that might be glimpsed as she hurried him along.
Leoxander unhooked their arms, only to take her hand in his to remain in contact, following. That worn, rough leather of fingerless gloves against her palm, he was content to watch her, smiling at danger she meshed so perfectly into her words, making him oh so willing to risk it, anyhow.
Tenebrae paused at the end of the street, where cobbles gave way to sand and tussocks of tough salt-grass. She could taste the ocean on her tongue, her aversion limited only to feeling at the mercy of its depths. "Up there... " A forefinger raised to point to the track leading to the cliff, a slight wince marring her features as she raised her arm.
Leoxander followed the point with his eyes, to the rise promising the ocean just ahead. He was the first to move, this time, digging muddy boots into the soil to pull her after, tugging on the arm that wasn't injured, of course. "What're we waitin' for?" His attention wandered forward again, the grassy hill fading to a stretch of sand, hearing the sound of the ocean against shore.
Tenebrae took the steps two at a time, breaking her hold on his hand. Her heels struck a spark on the stone as she leapt, hair flying behind in ebon ribbons. Jack, possibly catching her mood, let out a joyful bark as the dog bounded along beside her, his fur blowing almost flat to the windward side.
Leoxander slowed from the quickened pace meant to keep up with her, when that landscape came into view. Even in the darkness, lit only by moonlight, he could see the destruction that scarred the terrain. Hands slid into his pocket slowly, eyes drifting across the horizon with his jaw clenched, lips compressed in neither a smile, nor a frown.
Tenebrae faltered, her fierce joy receding somewhat as she takes in the devastation of the lookout. Her voice, when it came, was soft. "Sometimes it feels like death follows me, you know? Everywhere I go..."
Leoxander moved up beside her quietly, those footfalls never making a sound. "Looks like somethin' settled a score here at one point or another, that's for sure..." Deep vocals were kept in the usual murmur, always accented just enough to make his slang appropriately roguish.
Tenebrae turned to face Leoxander, making it necessary fr her to look up, in order to meet his gaze. "I don't want to stay here." She shudders, as the wind lifts hard of a sudden. "Take me to the beach?" Was this small woman the same doughty warrior that had even the staunchest of men blanching at either her sharpness of speech or sword? Her eyes pled with his; for what, even she wasn't sure.
Leoxander faced her, and for a moment, he allowed himself to look down into peridot stare, concern betraying the usual careless look of his eyes briefly. A slow and willing nod dipped his jaw, and without tearing his eyes from hers, she'd feel his large, work worn hand enclose around hers. Turning broke the eye contact, and he pulled gently to lead her back the way they'd come, maybe short cutting across the path to the road.
Leoxander paused there, on top of the cliffs that seemed reached by a little more moonlight than most places. Elevation, and all. Releasing her hand, he stopped her by turning to face her. "You said you would only tell me your secret here..." His gaze lowered to what they stood on. 'On the cliffs'. The water still washed the shore in the distance, breaking any silence that normally would have settled between them.
Tenebrae nodded, and moved toward a nearby flat-topped rock, a volcanic mass worn smooth by the wind of aeons. "Sit by me, Leo." It was a request, though the assurance that he would do so was there, too. The vampiress looked out across the vista, to the night-blackened waves, silver crests breaking across the sea's expanse.
Leoxander accepted silently, a placement or two of boots covered in some dry mud bringing him to her side, where his frame would settle easily on that makeshift stone bench. Comfort zone was easily breached, with her, and she'd probably feel the metal hilt of his dagger against her own hip, with only inches between them. Palms rested against the stone, his head bowed forward to look out at the distance, first, then he turned his head to settle on the view of his necromancer companion. Only to himself would the rogue admit that the view wasn't all that bad. Leoxander didn't notice the dog, who laid at a distance from the two, in the grass, waiting.
Tenebrae was silent a moment longer, still as the stone she sat on, before abruptly glancing to her bodice, fingers deftly unlacing the first few inches of that tight-fitting garment. "I have to show you something." Once the lacing was free, fingers slipped below to retrieve an object, no larger than her own palm. A disc, made of some dull material, an odd knotwork design barely visible on its surface as she held it up for him to see. "Do you remember, the other night. When I told you of the demon Nasada...?"
Leoxander was a little surprised at first. It wasn't everyday a beautiful woman told the rogue they had to show him something, and began unlacing their bodice. Brows rose in question, and for just a moment, he'd be caught looking toward her fingers, and maybe a little beyond, where laces were quickly loosening at the crevice of flesh located center-chest. His eyes blinked hard when he realized he was gawking at the poor female's cleavage, until she withdrew an item and gave him somewhere else to stare. He studied it quietly, and flicked a glance to her eyes at the question with a nod. "The one that caused all that havoc on the road.." The statement was just to clarify he remembered who she spoke of.
Tenebrae shook her head once more, very slightly, her hand laid to her lap with the disc laid to the center of her small palm. "No, Leo. This... this little thing I hold right here. This was what caused it all. Leo..." Her voice was scarce above a whisper. "This is the greatest secret in the world. It really, truly is." Her gaze left the medallion and looked to his, something of wonder in those eyes as she spoke. "I am, so it seems, the new keeper of the Seal of Darkness."
Leoxander dropped his duo colored eyes to... what was at first glance... a worthless rock. Probably not something he'd ever go out of his way to pick pocket, that was for sure. But he caught the engraved symbol on that object, studied it only briefly. She failed to inspire any awe in his murmur, but then, he was just a human, without much knowledge of magic, or otherworldly existences. "...What exactly does that mean?"
Tenebrae followed his glance, keeping her gaze trained to his as he looked back to her. "I don't really understand it myself. But the legends say it's older than the world, made by gods who warred long ago. Most of them died. The darkest of them were imprisoned, but before they were managed to create an avatar, a son that would free them. He in turn was bound, by these seals. It's said that the one who holds them all might free him." She smiles wanly. At least, that's how I think it goes, from the fragments I've heard so far."
Leoxander made no move to reach or touch the object, or get any closer than he already was. It sounded unpleasant enough to just hear the story. Arms draped across his knees with a slouch forward, head bowed enough to have strands of blonde hair falling over his eyes, even as they peered through toward her intent stare. "How'd that lil' thing cause all those dead bodies out west? And what's it good for if you don't have the others?" Did she? He was using his clever tongue to try to subtly find out.
Tenebrae saw his discomfort, a terrible sadness descending on that jewel-hued gaze as she tucked the disc away again, idly plucking the laces of her bodice into place. "The two most important of the Seals are those of Light and Darkness. On their own, they are artefacts of immense power. Nasada, descendant of those dark gods himself, was the keeper for more than five hundred years." She blinked, a tear escaping the corner of her eye to splash down her parchment cheek. "It drove him mad. But it saved him too. If you possess the Seal, you cannot die. Not ever." Tene met his eyes again. "Nasada died in that battle, willingly, because he no longer carried it."
Leoxander listened carefully, a surprising frown touching his mouth when he saw the tear that escaped her eyes. That was a startling reaction he hadn't expected from a woman like Tenebrae. Eyes narrowed slightly, more intent, or concerned. "So why've you got it now? And who's to say it won't drive you the same way, Lady?" He kept his questions casual, as though it really didn't matter to him. And why should it? None of his business. That was what he kept telling himself, despite the knots of dread that coiled his stomach at the idea of the Necromancer losing her mind to a dark stone.
Tenebrae almost reached for his hand then, for the comfort it might afford her, but halted at the last moment. She had no desire to cause him further recoil. "Nasada gave it to me, before the war commenced." She paused, struggling to find the words. "Were it not for the seal, we might have been very close, he and I. We thought alike, on many matters and indeed, held a fondness for each other, almost familial, despite the pain he caused me. He came to say goodbye. Passing the Seal to me was his way, I suppose, of saying sorry." She didn't bother wiping away the tears to follow, allowing the few droplets to course her cheeks. "And it may not take my mind. It might not, if I can be strong enough to bear it, without falling to its will."
Leoxander was out of his league, and he knew it. His eyes lingered upon the necromancer, consorter with demons and darkness and all the magic capable from it. Sitting beside her was a pick-pocket, a pirate, someone who could never guess the next week, without a certainty he'd be alive to see it. He saw the tears, and after a pause of silence where the ocean's sound filled in, his gloved hand lifted, causing him to turn more toward her. Fingers molded to her jaw, and rough thumbpad smeared moisture at an angle upon her cheek. His admitted words were even quieter than usual. "...I don't like this. You're riskin' too much..." He knew it wasn't his place to say so, but he said it anyway.
Tenebrae sniffed faintly, a smile turning up the corners of her lips as the rogue wiped her tears. Her head canted to lean to his palm, even that touch immensely reassuring. "No-one will ever know. No-one but you. I'll be alright, if I keep it hidden. I want no war to rage around me. Creature of Chaos I might be, but that doesn't mean I enjoy wholesale murder, not like that. All I want is to get on making my home habitable as it should be, live my life, y'know?" She looked to him as though he had the answers. "At least with me, this thing will not be used to make the whole world like that blackened bit of road, like that dreadful place back there..." Her gaze shifted momentarily to the south. "I'll be alright, Leo. Just so long as people don't know I have it, and I keep myself strong inside. But thankyou..." The smile returned. "... for caring."
Leoxander frowned, maybe for the first time ever in her presence. He looked... genuinely miserable at the thought of her possessing an object like that. The youth and mischief faded from his eyes, leaving a dull fear there that narrowed them down toward the ground, briefly. Whether he was more angry at the possibility of her being harmed by an item like that, or whether he was merely infuriated with himself for caring as much as he did, he wouldn't, nor couldn't say. The rogue stood, not entirely convinced with her reassurances, but he was not the type of person to stop her. She was high above him, on the chart of power and abilities. "...I hope you're right, Tenebrae.." His eyes shifted, from the dog he spotted in the distance, down toward her. Images of that blackened road had him looking west with the exhale of a breath that fogged warm in night air.
Leoxander snapped his fingers at his side. Jack stood with a shake of his shaggy fur and walked slowly to the rogue's heels, sitting with an expectant look between the human and vampire.
Tenebrae watched him rise, her hands growing numb with sudden despair. "I understand, if you wish nothing more to do with me. I'll not think badly of you for it, not a bit." Still, she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Her face, as pale as the moon above, was turned down. "I'd miss you, though."
Leoxander took a few steps away, before her words halted him. With the sea wind in his ears, Leo turned to look over his shoulder toward the woman, studying her quietly for as long as he could. He spoke again casually, despite that his words were anything but. "...Everythin' we've been through. You savin' my life.... your blood swimmin' my veins... Hell, the dog even likes ya.." With a vague smirk that tried to feign some humor, he looked down, and pet Jack's ears. "And still... you expect me to just walk away forever, like I don't wake up from dreams of you every night..." Would she hear those soft spoken words? The waves in the distance nearly drowned them out, quiet as they were. He stared down at his dog, and a soft, humorless laugh tremored in his chest with a shake of his head.
Tenebrae looked up abruptly at the sound of his voice, a wash of relief shifting the profound sadness from her features, and she smiled again as she looked to Jack. "I adore him, utterly." Her hand was raised, in farewell. "See you soon, Leo. I hope."
Leoxander merely lifted his jaw with a smirk and a glance back toward her before his hood was drawn up. Goodbyes were over-rated as it was. Jack the Black, the shaggy dog always at his side, altered his path to walk to Tenebrae, wet snout nudging roughly beneath her hands for a pat of farewell, before he turned to lope after his master, already descending toward the street. Shadows would swallow them both, in time.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 6:24:03 GMT -5
Leoxander took one of them out cleanly, splitting the small body in two easily. The other, however, dodged his swing to leap quickly onto his sword arm, biting into tattooed flesh at the bend of that appendage. With a yell of pain and anger, the sword was dropped, one dagger of the twins sheathed at each hip grabbed in his left hand to impale the thing between the eyes, prying its bite from his arm. Leo growled a few choice words that weren't part of any decent person's vocabulary. The pirate, though, spoke them freely as he jerked the blade from goblin skull, stabbing it into the holster at his side. The sword was picked up, tip of the blade dragging across cobblestone.
Tenebrae winced as the creature sank fang and claw to the man's flesh, as had done his ilk previously. She could heal the wounds. If he'd let her. She could only offer.
Leoxander looked back her way with frustration still etched onto his features, but the dog's approach caught his attention before long. He took the mixtures from the dog's mouth, then nodded a silent thanks to the woman he knew them to be from, stashing them in the pouch at his waist. Trying not to limp from fatigue (as he'd been at that most of the day) he made his way back to her side.
Tenebrae moved over, the edge of the trough not providing the most comfortable respite from his rigours, but it would do. She looked to the torn flesh and freely running blood on his arms and chest. "Wounds look bad. Need a hand with those?" Though it was a misnomer, her hand not being the actual means of assistance offered.
Leoxander rested both gloved hands on the hilt of the tall sword, blade down to wedge against the ground, so that when he sat, he could lean forward, bracing his weight on that tall weapon. He took a few deep breaths, slouching heavily, as though something weighed his shoulders down. A sideways glance her way was given. "How's that?" He still didn't much understand magic, healing, or how any of it worked. Especially with a necromancer.
Tenebrae 's brow quirked slightly at that. "Remember your scars?" Her fingers reached to brush his face. "It works just as well on open wounds." That vibrant gaze was cast back to the blood, a subtle glitter appearing in crystalline irises, now edged in black.
Leoxander remembered... How could he forget? The blood touched scent of her warm breath on his cheek was a memory that would last him the rest of his years. At first, he winced at the thought of making her taste the iron flavor of fresh blood. But then... it clicked that she liked that sort of thing. Or at least, he assumed she would, vampire and all. Curiosity got to him, and releasing the hilt of the sword with his nearer hand, he reluctantly offered his bare arm her way. The most prominent of gashes was on the thicker muscle of forearm, at the top, where he'd been bitten. Blood oozed over the ink resembling a scorpion on his arm.
Tenebrae 's lips quivered slightly, as they drew back over the ivory length of her fangs, fingers gently taking up the wounded arm in one hand, the other reached to her pack. Slender fingers, oddly powerful for such petite digits, dug to the corded limb he offered, as she drew forth a bottle from her pack with her other hand, but by the body rather than the neck of it. Cracking it against the stone edge of the trough, she removed the head of the bottle, tipping the contents onto his flesh. Her voice had a metallic edge to it when she spoke, her hunger more then evident in the feral leer her expression had come to resemble. "You did say I should bottle it..." She would not make this, one of the few she gave a damn about, into prey. She'd melded her fluids into the mulled wine, and carried it against the chance she'd find him bleeding. The arm covered, she tipped the remainder to her hand and smeared it over the wound of his chest. Already, the rents in his skin were drawing back together, a jagged though thin and silvery scar running through the scorpion on his forearm. This, she did dare to taste, even the scar fading under the warmth of her tongue.
Leoxander wouldn't admit that he was disappointed. At least, not out loud, to her. He'd imagined her ducking her head, sealing the wounds with the warm stroke of her tongue. Instead, he watched quietly with duo colored eyes, as that bottled 'liquid' was poured onto the wound, washing blood away. "...Yeah. I guess I did." He kept his gaze lowered to watch skin meld back together quietly, ink still in tact more or less. The fact that she still removed the scar in the manner he'd hoped for had a shudder stealing through him, but he cleared his throat and lowered the weapon to rest it on the ground, in hopes she wouldn't notice that.
Tenebrae 's snarl was soft as she released his limb, the same murmur a tigress might make in her throat as she appraised the waiting kill. She'd not fed in days... her heart was sluggish, her reason sapped. Frantically grabbing another bottle, this of a deeper hue than the other, she uncorked it with a savage bite and yank of head, the stopper spat the the ground as she raised the drink to her lips.
Leoxander didn't seem alarmed or afraid. He was, in fact, uncharacteristically calm sitting beside a woman who was suddenly fiending for blood, and he was covered in small scratches of it. Brow furrowed slightly in concern, his curiosity keeping him brave enough to linger there beside her, the grip removed from that larger weapon. "That bad, is it..?" His deep murmur was softly spoken.
Tenebrae did not respond until the last of the sluggish liquid had been swallowed, the bottle cast aside to splinter on the stone below. Turning to him, she looked little better for it. "If I don't feed, my heart slows, and stops. I'll die." Her gaze is piercing. "But that won't stop me killing, again, and again. I'll be truly undead. No better than the revenants who made me as I am." Another bottle was grasped, its fate the same as the one before.
Leoxander rested his hands, always gloved in fingerless black leather, between his knees with forearms draping atop the muscles of his legs. His posture was almost as bad as his grammar. "So you do what'cha gotta do. Why's feedin' such a big deal? You end up killin' anythin' you feed from?" The human was naive about these things. It was nice to have someone as patient as her to explain it all.
Tenebrae 's voice was low as she replied, the empty bottle dropped as she mimicked his posture eyes intent on the cobbled ground. "I don't always have it in me to choose."
Leoxander rested his jaw in a palm, keeping his gaze her way, his features peppered in sweat but his heartbeat once again calm. "Kinda takes you over, huh?"
Tenebrae nodded, still studying the road. "Sometimes. It was better, when..." A sidelong glance flickers to him, then. "If I feed regularly, or from others imbued with power, it's not so bad. Irregular feed from mortals make me.... unpredictable." Mistress of the understatement, she straightened her spine. "Prey makes me more of a predator." A cryptic comment, but true.
Leoxander sat up slowly, his spine popping in a few places with the shift of vertebrae. "Now don't take this the wrong way..." And she could, very easily do so. Leo wasn't always a careful gentleman with his words. "But here's my question..." His eyes lingered on her, intent, thoughtful. "If you've yet to entirely control somethin' you've lived with a long time, somethin' that's become a part of you..." Maybe involuntarily, his vision lowered to the laces of her bodice, where she'd drawn it from before. "What makes you think you can control the power of that stone you showed me the other night?" The rogue was bold with his tongue, wasn't he?
Tenebrae 's eyelids drew down slowly, a ragged sigh escaping lips rosier than they'd been before the wine. "I've been wondering the same thing. It's easy to be full of bravado, with a yoeman's life singing in my veins. I went without, to test my mettle." That clear voice wavered, now. "It seems I've come up wanting."
Leoxander shook his head slowly, not understanding all of what she explained. His eyes dropped to the dog staring quietly back up at him, and his hands reached out to rub Jack's ears, watching the content expression that showed with a loll of tongue and brown eyes closing away. "I really can't say I like this whole worryin' about you stuff. Sure, you can tell me not to all you want. But I don't get why you gotta be the one to risk everythin' over some rock..." He wasn't trying to, but if she watched him closely enough, she might notice how he was admitting he cared. At least, as close to such as anyone could expect from a guy like Leo.
Tenebrae looked up, a slight frown marring her smooth brow. "I can feel the weight of it already. The way it whispers to me. Its will, eroding my own, little by little. I understand Nasada's madness now." The vampiress' gaze seemed to demand an answer from him, though she knew he was as unlikely as she to possess one. "What else am I to do with it? Who can be entrusted, with such power?"
Leoxander reached back to scratch the nap of his own neck since no one did it for him, like they did for his spoiled dog. His eyes darted up and down the roads briefly, casual habit for someone always on their guard, always expecting and arrow or knife in the back at any moment. Somehow, he stayed laid back and casual all the same, and the red of his two eyes squinted some with a shrug. "Why not bury it? Throw it to the bottom o'the ocean on a sail 'cross to Rynvale?" Jack stalked off boredly into the darkness, and Leo didn't seem to care. "Just get rid of it, Tene'..."
Tenebrae said to Leoxander, "I thought of it." The smile returned, as she broke the train of the conversation. "You're really very sweet, you know? Most would be telling me to give it to some godling or other. Or worse, inveigling me into giving it to themselves. But you..." She reaches a hand to ruffle his hair. "My favourite rogue, suggest I piff into the sea." She grins. "And I might just do that."
Leoxander wished he was wearing his protective mask, because at her words, color flushed across his nose on it's own accord. All he could do about it was look away with his eyes rolling somewhat, trying to muster a bit of a sneer. Gruff words meant to shrug her off, but yeah, he was affected by that compliment. "C'mon, not too loud now. You'll ruin my reputation." Reaching up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly, he stood, stepping out into the street where moonlight was enough to silhouette him even to human vision. "Hey, at least if nobody knew where it was, nobody would ever find em all to have that power you talked about." He acted like he hadn't really paid attention. "Better none of us have that sorta control, than a certain someone, y'know?" His hands slid into his pockets, back somewhat toward her, but never entirely.
Tenebrae laughed softly as he blushed, and a little more as he suggested her words could besmirch his name. She watched him move, the angles of his frame made cameo against the darkling streetscape. Her laughter faded at his next suggestion. "It's possible. But I fear to let it loose. Like calls to like, pet, and I worry that it would make itself known, were it left to its own devices." She cants her head in curiosity, however, at the last. "There are many I could think of who crave power, though shouldn't weild it. Of whom do you speak, in particular?"
Leoxander crossed his arms comfortably over his chest, turning to face her at a distance, now, since he'd managed to hide away the color that had flooded his features. His eyes squinted in the dark toward the Necromancer. "No one in particular. But as powerful as you say that demon guy is, or was, there's always someone waiting to take the place of a villain." A sly smirk touched the corner of his mouth at that, pausing to wonder how he would do as a dark lord. Not so fair, he imagined.
Tenebrae stood, hand placed against her chest, over the place where the disc sat, cool and for now quiescent. "I am putting thought to this Leo. I am. It's just so damned hard to know what's best. I'm just a speck of dust, compared to the beings that made this Seal. I'm very little in worth, compared to the people who'd fight me for it, if they found out I had it. But I have the sense to want it safe." She watches him, quietly, a moment. "Do you believe in Fate, Leo?"
Leoxander listened respectfully to every word she had to say. Even compared to -her-... Leo could feel minor. She had more knowledge, more power and more nobility than the rogue would ever want to have. His eyes never left hers, and remained in a hard stare as he answered. "I believe things happen for a reason. Not necessarily for good reasons." Again, he responded with one of those careless shrugs. "Is that the same thing?"
Tenebrae nodded. "That's exactly how I'd define it. I also believe that Fate delivered this thing, this responsibility to me, for a reason." She pauses. "Good or bad, it's a reason. And I'm more worried about tempting Fate than I am about a few angst-ridden demi-gods." Her chuckle to follow was clearly an attempt at bravado. "But you know what? So long as I have you as my friend, I'll know I'm still on the right path. I trust you, Leoxander. And I trust you're just smart - and selfish - enough to bugger off, if I went bad. Will you help me, 'til I know better what to do with it? Will you keep me company, be my weathervane, in case the storm would come?"
Leoxander found it hard to admit that same trust. But when he thought about it, he trusted her more than he'd ever trust anyone else, by that point. She'd saved his life, mingled bloodlines, bonded with his dog... "Y'know, you're askin' quite a favor..." Was he trying to make her feel guilty? No. It was just the last of his unease showing as he looked to the ground, then toward the quiet sound of the dog's approach, slowly, from the shadows. A sigh fogged the air, without his mask to cover it. He spoke toward his only other companion, ever. "What'dya say, Jack? Should we actually let a woman folk aboard our vessel?" The dog sat with a lolled tongue grin, plumey tail wagging.
Tenebrae folded her arms and jiggled a bit, looking to the pair expectantly, though her grin showed she knew what their response was, already. She glanced fondly to Jack, the only dog she'd ever taken to. And the only one that hadn't taken to howling madly in her presence, for a very long time. "Thought you'd give me your vote, mutt." She lowers her voice in a conspiratorial aside to him, eyes darting toward Leo. "I'll get you that bone I promised you, later."
Leoxander turned back toward Tenebrae, his smirking saying more than a 'yes' ever could. At least, she had to expect he'd be there as often as he could. As a rogue, Leo had a tendency to wander... "An' what about my bone? There best be some riches to be had on this suicidal god race." Hah, wasn't he the optimistic one? The teasing grin would reassure of his teasing manner. Beside, Tenebrae knew he had a dark sense of humor.
Tenebrae nodded enthusiastically, her eyes wide, blinking in sincerity. "I assure you, there'll be plenty of bones laying about, by the time this is over. You could take your pick." Ah, but hers was all the darker.
Leoxander would allow one last moment of possibility to waiver over his head, a grin pulling onto his features, the usual lopsided, mischievous smile. "And just in case you do decide to take over the world, Lady..." His arms had unfolded, and as he spoke, he took a few steps toward her to close the distance, breaking into comfort zone easily enough, by then. His knuckles nudged gently beneath her chin, bringing her eyes level to his duo colored stare, the tip of his large nose dangerously close to hers. "I hope you remember your loyalties." The red of pupils would flicker when that eye twitched in a wink. Fingers unfolded to pat her cheek gently, before he brushed by to retrieve his sword.
Tenebrae wrinkled her nose gently as he spoke, unable to keep from laughing. She turned to him as he passed. "Admiral Leoxander, of the Royal Fleet, no less. Ten thousand ships at your command." She actually giggles, before the next: "I'd even bestow upon you a clean shirt. The world itself would gape at the wonder of it."
Leoxander picked up the blade quietly, ignoring the ache of worked arms. But he hadn't had his usual drunk-worthy dose of medicine, that night. He wasn't used to being sober at that hour. Careful not to impale his spine, his sheathed the sword diagonal across his shoulderblades. "Now you can't be sayin' stuff like that, Tenebrae..." He couldn't wipe away that cheshire smile. "That's awfully tempting. I thought we're supposed to do the responsible thing, here?"
Tenebrae blinked a little, before her visage settled to a granite mask of seriousness. "You're right, Leo. We must keep our humility, amidst it all." She nods sagely. "Forget the shirt."
Leoxander reached to adjust the shredded collar of the shirt somehow staying attached over his chest, though it was riddled with tears and knots of leather trying to keep most of his torso concealed. "Hey, this is my lucky shirt, anyhow." The sleeves were non-existent, torn off awhile ago to reveal tattoos down each arm. And damn if he didn't wear it proudly, bearing a handsome grin. "I think it best if people don't see me with you all the time, but that doesn't mean I won't be watchin', y'know?" He'd have his moment of solemn glance, there, as well.
Tenebrae 's smile fell a little then, but she did her best to keep it bright. "Alright, then." She wasn't surprised that he'd be hesitant to be associated with her, in public. Tene had no doubt that it was hard for him, to let others know he was close to one such as her. "Perhaps it would be for the best."
Leoxander said to you, "Beside..." He checked his weapons, including the pair of blades at his hip. But the rest of his words were a low murmur with a motion to beckon the dog to his feet, and nearer. "Wouldn't want all those guys standin' in line to get the wrong idea..." Just a smirk lingered, he began to search for his mask.
Trakir bows to Tenebrae, "Hello m'lady"
Leoxander eyed Trakir quietly while finding and donning the mask over the lower part of his face, breath no longer fogging the air.
Tenebrae gave her clansmate a respectful bow of head, before her smile regained its verve as she turned back toward Leoxander. "Damn. And here was I thinking you'd get the chance to learn to use that enormous sword of yours." Sometimes, she even rolled her eyes at herself.
Leoxander smiled, managing to keep his laugh restrained. With that cloth over his face, they'd only see the slight squint at the edges of his eyes, revealing some premature lines of age to the still young human. His gaze lingered on the stranger, so long as he stayed in sight, however.
Tenebrae canted her head a little to the side. "You're going?" She called Jack to her, kneeling to dig her fingers to his ruff, head tilting back to avoid the lapping tongue. "Farewell, Jack. Take care of him for me, will you?"
Leoxander had been concealing his features at the approach of another, but as she presented the option, he thought it over. "I think it's about time for me to get drunk, honestly." And honest wasn't something the rogue was, all the time. But the human had his limits, and as nocturnal as Leo could be, he looked pretty worn by that point. Not necessary tired, but in need of somewhere warm to sit, maybe.
Tenebrae pursed her lips a little, considering his words. Drunk sounded good. But the hunger still gnawed redly at her belly, and she wanted to be able to trust herself again. "Have one for me. No ... ten." She grinned, taking up her own pack, slinging it to her now impeccably healed left shoulder. "I'm sure you can manage that."
Leoxander waited for the dog to finish his farewells, which included a thorough snuffling of her hand. "I'll do my best, ma'am." Still wearing signs of amusement, he turned, the rogue and his dog heading down Beloy Street.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 7:11:12 GMT -5
- on the Kelay road, at the site of Nasada's battle --
Tenebrae was backing off... and the undead, remnant of the demon's war, was shambling toward her with horrid determination. "Look.." Her hands were held up in an atittude of reasonable enquiry. "I don't want to have to undo you, sweetness." She smiled. "Just ... bugger off now, there's a good cadaver."
Kaida tilts her head a bit to the side in a curious way as she looks at Tenbrae.
Leoxander approached the devastation slowly, not realizing Sage Forest's entrance was that particular spot. His eyes calmly went to the Necromancer, brows lifting at the appearance of the lumbering undead. Jack wouldn't go too near, and was whimpering from behind some charred fence.
Tenebrae pointed to Kaida, as she continues addressing the risen corpse. "Eat her! She's tubby! I'm all skin and bone, not tasty a bit.." All the time, she wracked her brain for correct sigil. Always hard, undoing the work of others.
Kaida blinks at Tenbrae's words and mutters softly "W-what did I do?"
Tenebrae 's eyes lit up as the right chant and arcane symbol came to mind in a flood of recalled knowledge. A few moments, a swathe of rippling shadows and a dire and guttural chant later, and the revenant seemed to aquiesce to her will a little more. Half-blind and rotting eyes, whitish as the belly of a washed-up floater, stared at her now, a kind of dull expectency in the slack and drooling way it held its lips.
Leoxander crossed his arms over his chest with the bow strapped across the flat of his torso. He called out to Tenebrae with amusement in his voice. "Uh, you need a hand there, Mistress of Darkness?"
Tenebrae snickered. "All under control." She turned toward the rogue. "And you may address me thusly, from this moment on." She snickers again. "Or I'll set Cholomondely onto you." She lifts her chin toward the stinking remnant that was, apparently, her new friend.
Leoxander remembered the warrior vaguely from the tavern, but he didn't make any move to approach nearer the two, yet. Jack was even farther behind him. He stood there casually, flesh-scented wind tossed his hair in his eyes.
Kaida bites her lip before softly speaking to Leoxander "I-I do not...wish to offend you, sir. B-but I think...I think you dog is scared, m-maybe you should try to..to calm it?"
Leoxander said to Tenebrae, "Ah, you ain't seriously bloody thinkin' bout keepin' that thing around, are you?"
Tenebrae wasn't smiling a bit, when she turned back to see Leo at such a distance, and Jack shivering at the back of him. "Oh... how thoughtless of me. Not fond of the dead, are you, fellers?"
Leoxander stalked forward, stepping on a few charred bodies only because they were half decayed and hard to be seen on that battle scorched ground, anyhow. He tossed a glance back toward the dog, carelessly, then shook his head and left the canine behind.
Leoxander said, "He only likes a few choice corpses..." The rogue muttered beneath his breath, donning his mask. Then he looked at Kaida. "You got a bit of a studderin' problem there, lass?"
Tenebrae looked to Cholomondely a bit sadly. She thought the name suited him, anyway. Ah, well. Leo was more fun than a five-day-old corpse. If it came to choices, her new friend was ... well, dead in the water.
Kaida blinks again and blushes faintly. Kaida said to Leoxander, "K-kinda....people...tell me I'm shy...I a-always stutter to...to strangers..."
Tenebrae sighed softly, a twist of fingers and the chorus to the Chant of Unbinding, and Cholomondely went the way of his forebears, falling to the earth with a sloppy sort of thunk.
Leoxander looked over the 'warrior' quietly, wondering how she dealt with that lack of bravery complex in her apparent profession. Mentally shrugging the matter aside, he yelled back for his dog. "C'mon you scaredy cat!" Oh yeah, callin' a dog a feline, that really got to the shaggy canine. Duo colored eyes glanced at Tenebrae as he passed her.
Leoxander said to Tenebrae, "We goin'..?"
Kaida huffs quietly to herself when she sees the look in Leoxander's eyes, having seen it enough to know what it means. Yet she is silent.
Tenebrae nods, a last wistful nudge with toe of her boot at the rapidly liquefying body. "Right-o, you lead the way..." He didn't hear her mutter, after: "You big spoil-sport."
Leoxander didn't, but Jack did. One might swear the mutt grinned on his jog north to catch up to the two. Leoxander exits north.
Leoxander hopped the fence cleanly, followed by the dog, as agile as his human companion. Different colored eyes shifted back to make sure she was keeping up.
Leoxander would slow to a stop at the border of that forest, taking a deep breath with his eyes shifting his surroundings. The air was heavier, here, thicker with the scent of a recent rain.
Tenebrae followed, cursing her choice of skin-tight leather skirt as she scrambled across the pickets, her dignity in shreds. Thank goodness the two had gone ahead. She hoped they hadn't had the thought to look back. “I’ll be there in a minute, just getting changed…” Her voice would sound toward their disappearing forms, as she reached to her pack for some more practical clothing.
Leoxander shouted, "Jack, if I can't peek you can't."
Leoxander shouted, "*Jack barks from the distance.*"
Tenebrae shouted, hoping it was loud enough to carry to Leo, and not so loud as to rouse any lurking beasts. She grinned as Jack appeared out of the trees. “I’ll whistle when I’m done. And no need to worry abut my safety, Jack’s here, to guard me while I change.”
Leoxander said, "Yeah yeah.." He reached over his shoulder to latched spiked armor over the worn lucky shirt just a little tighter. Waiting for that whistle, his low murmur might be heard... "Damn dog havin' all the fun..."
Tenebrae, a few moments later, whistled and waited for the rogue to appear again. She was still wearing the skirt, and a mighty scowl besides. Holding up the leggings she'd planned to wear, she showed clearly why it was she wouldn't be wearing them. "Bloody dragons..." There wasn't much left of the seat, scorched leather surrounding the missing part. "Couldn't sit down for a week. I'd quite forgotten."
Leoxander moved forward into the forest again, swatting at some of those blurred things flitting by with annoyance squinting his eyes. His footsteps were taken silently along mossy path. "That's a pity, Tene'..." Probably the only time Leo would ever like a dragon.
Tenebrae sighs softly. "We'd best keep it quiet for a while. I spotted wolf spoor over there, by those bushes." She gestures to the topic. "And there's few natural wolves left in there parts." She ducked a flitting jewel-wing, frowning, her voice low. "This way." And northward she went
Leoxander looked around with about as sharp as vision as it could be, for a human. "I'm glad you know where you're going.." His murmur was given just a step behind her, so she'd hear the barely audible sound beneath the black mask.
Leoxander unhooked one side of his shoulder armor to clear room to the leather quiver that had been strapped against his shoulderblade. It blended, in black, and housed a few arrows collected. A visit had been paid to the Shadow den.
Tenebrae looked aside, watching his actions with clear approval. Still, she wondered how it all came so natural to him. A raised hand beckoned him to the west, the caution in her eyes unmistakable, though the spoor she found was old and dry.
Leoxander didn't yet make a move to bring the bow from how it hugged comfortably to his frame. He still wanted his hands free. Hunting werewolves was a new experience to him. He was silent for most part, height lowered to walk lower toward the ground.
Leoxander paused to look around that scene, even in the twilight of night and morning, looking around that area. It was beautiful, even to a guy who normally didn't appreciate all that nature stuff.
Tenebrae jogged ahead a moment - no easy feat in those heels - then reappeared, her face flushed. "I found wolftracks, big ones, but leading right into the center of Larket. If we hurry, we might catch the trail before it goes too cold."
Leoxander could probably keep up when it came to running, and barely a pant was heard as he pushed up onto that wall, keeping up with her on the sprint. His eyes lingered west, but he waited her lead.
Tenebrae stood with her hands on her hips. "Right." She looked to the north. "It has to be a werewolf. No natural wolf in its right mind would head into town." She stands. "No need for quiet for a while, I guess. Unless we find too many bodies."
Leoxander remained crouched, arms resting on his knees. "I ain't followin' a werewolf into town. S'pose he can look human. I've got enough bounties out there..."
Tenebrae stared at him a moment, then it clicked. "Bounties..." Crap. She'd been looking forward to trying out that new technique. "You sure your mask won't do the trick?"
Tenebrae was crouched thigh to heel, examining a trail of blood leading north, as Leo arrived behind her. Craning 'round to look to that unevenly matched gaze, her expression was serious. "Not far. It's been killing, nearby. I'd say by these drag-marks the den is just ahead. And...", she adds, "It's very definitely not in human form. Cursed, I'd say. No lycan born ever had paws that big." She points to the enormous tracks. Standing, she reaches to her belt, sword slung round to her back. "I have a new toy, too." The necromancer grins, with something of bravado in it.
Tenebrae slipped the blades from their scabbards, each a perfect replica of the others, and not a lot unlike Leo's, though these were clearly silver. The whitish metal flashed as she spun them deftly in slender fingers. "They don't like silver, much."
Leoxander didn't have all the knowledge she did, but at seeing those blades, he recognized the glint of precious metal and smirked beneath that mask. Silver... he had a few silver arrows. He'd 'scrounged' them lately from other quivers and forgotten bodies, and a few arrows were shifted through until he recognized that same silver hue, crossed in a four point barbed tip.
Tenebrae was seriously considering rolling the thief at that point. Well, not really, but she was pretty impressed with his new weaponry range. "Nice arrows." Hint of envy. Strange girl, Tene. She looked ahead, her tone dropping to a barely discernable whisper. "Ready?"
Leoxander said to you, "You really think I can hit it? I've only got one. Maybe two. But this might be troll metal..." The thief knew his finds. "Yeah, off we go."
Leoxander picked his way silently forward, distancing himself somewhat behind the Necromancer. Jack was no where to be seen, but that didn't mean the dog wasn't near, being as silent as his human companion could be. Mask down, the arrow was clutched between his teeth, the bow removed slowly from his upper torso.
Tenebrae had those knives at ready as they crept through the dank forest. Scarcely could a hand be seen before one's face as the trees seemed to tangle together in a thick and oppressive canopy overhead. She winced each time her boot crackled on dry leaves or fallen twig, though her aetherically light form prevented that happening too often. A thick smell of old blood lay in the air, mingling with a pungent musk of a male wolf, at lair.
Leoxander heard Jack's whisper soft growl in the thicket behind him, and his eyes shifted, searching the dark forest, a gloom his human vision could barely pierce. With the slender shaft of the arrow taken silently in hand, he mindlessly knocked it to bowstring, sliding the killing dart automatically into place on the long bow.
Tenebrae had expected this monster to be big, but the thing that crashed from the bushes to their left, with a vicious growl so low as to rumble in one's eardrums, was almost nine feet tall, on its hind legs. It was also equipped with claws that would make a full-grown bear whimper. Slavering maw dripped foam flecked with the bloody remnants of its last meal, eyes merely red pits in its elongated head. There was little of the human in the maddened beast that now dropped to all fours in order to lope toward them, snarl-deformed snout twisting from side to side to take in vampire, rogue and dog.
Leoxander probably wasn't the first to spot that creature, but there was no ignoring the sound that brought his foot back a step, turning toward the movement. "Tenebrae." Her name was called sharply. The beast had already seen them, no use staying stealthy. He paced backward to keep distance between his body and the lycan's quick form, if possible, suddenly forgetting how to hold that weapon...
Tenebrae turned at the sound of her name and saw Leo falter -- and who could blame him? Turning back, she saw the reason for it. Yet, the heat of battle-lust pulsing in her veins, Tene leapt to the fore, ordering the madly barking Jack back from the fray with a throaty "Gerrout, Jack!" Brave as he was, that pooch was less than a mouthful for what was coming ... Hands flew to her knives, knives flew to the air, merely metallic blurs that span with unerring aim toward the deformed beast. The first was turned aside by a massive swipe of paw, the second lodging somewhere in the thick shag of its shoulder. That it had been hit was obvious in the ghastly blood-chilling howl that erupted from its throat, though it hardly paused in it path toward the pair. "Oh dear..." Tene muttered it to herself, hand reaching over her shoulder to the hilt of her spellcrafted blade, the necromancer beating hasty retreat, as well. "Not so pretty ..."
Leoxander had enough time, with her distraction, to leap to a higher vantage point, bow already knocked and ready. But in those moments, his memory of how to use the weapon faltered some, his hands trembled slightly as he squinted an eye, aiming, watching the blade bury to leave the Necromancer momentarily unarmed. Jack didn't much care for abandoning the situation, but Leo was used to his recklessness, and paid little attention to the dog's barking as the large, heavy bow was drawn at a full arch, biceps tensed.
Leoxander figured that thing could probably tear him in half, but he couldn't stand back and do nothing. The first shot was fired, and it was poor luck that the arrow skimmed the lycan's ear while it made a swipe for Tenebrae, impaling into a tree trunk deeply behind it. Cursing, Leo fumbled to knock another arrow, but by then, he'd probably gained attention...
Leoxander managed to dodge the werewolf's first and only swipe, releasing a second arrow into the creature's chest. Fortunately... it wasn't silver, because the werewolf roared angrily, and came at the thief, would dropped the death-call bow to reach for his blades at hip sheath.
Leoxander impaled one of his own blades deeply between ribs, but the impact that it hit the human... One moment he was being towered over, the next minute he hit the side of a tree hard, and slid down it toward the ground.
Thea appears from the south. Thea grins to the vampiress, inspecting her chosen company before giving her friend a hug, "Tene!"
Leoxander was currently stunned, having some of his brains knocked loose in a battle with the werewolf. Leave it to a pixie to hug her friend at this sort of time. A groan came from the bushes.
Thea smirks, eyeing the stranger still, "Who is your friend here, Tene?"
Tenebrae was still at ground level, and the distance between her and the rampantly annoyed werebeast was closing, fast, as the first of Leo's arrows whizzed by her, missing its target. The vampiress was soon backed by a dense clump of trees, nowhere to go back there but into more trouble ... and the hellish creature was close enough to slash at her, ten-inch hooked claws that could slice her life away in a flash. Too dangerous fro the sword, too close for the hook. Magic could work, but she needed time! There was nought to do but go... up. Tene took to the trees, those heels coming in handy for grip on bough and trunk as she scaled the tall hardwood. She'd never heard of lycans climbing trees. Didn't mean it didn't happen...
Tenebrae shouted, "Ack, Thea! Get your way up a tree, hasty!"
Thea blinks and takes flight quickly, looking down to her friend, wondering what all the fuss is about. After all, she too could be rather..wolfy at times.
Tenebrae points to the slavering, gnashing, nine-foot rabid .... "Run!"
Leoxander didn't think about climbing trees right away, and of course the Lycan, failing to reach the woman, would remember the annoying dog and the human still on ground level at once. He pushed to his feet in time to see the bore fangs sent in his direction, snarling, and then he turned, leaping over rock and root and sprinting through branches to run. Tenebrae needed time, and Leo wanted to live. He'd dodge a sudden leap to turn, bolting back the Necromancer's way.
Leoxander shouted, "Tenebrae!! "
Thea shrugs and flutters up to one of the branches near her friend, "He's never given me such trouble..well..except for that one time with the mating call and all, but.."
Leoxander could run fast though, they had to give them that. Maybe that thief was the only one who could actually keep a werewolf running at his heels for awhile. He sprinted under the tree the two so calmly sat chatting in, with another yell. "Oh MISTRESS OF DARKNESS!" Frustrated vocals faded as he tried to dodge another attack, not so lucky the second time.
Tenebrae heard that alright. And was secretly chuffed at his use of it again. But no time for vanity! The spell was still at work. The bugger about magic is, it takes so long to become effective. Quite soon, though, the dire magics were woven, the canta chanted and from the necromancer's staff, hastily torn from it strapping at her back, erupted a ball of black and fizzing flame. She hoped to hell and back it was the right spell. For that lycanthrope was on Leo's heels...
Thea watches closely, lending her healing arts when possible as Leoxander and the werewolf change blows.
Leoxander slipped and fell indeed. And the beast was on top of him, leaping onto the human's chest roughly, blocked by only a gloved hand clutched to the lupine's jaws, just out of range of killing fangs. He wasn't as strong as the creature, however, it was about that time he needed some help. And fortunately, it was about that time he heard the crackle of the necromancer's magics, leaning his head back with a yell of anger, barely out of reach of a mortal bite to his trachea.
Thea regards Tenebrae with a bit of concern, "Be careful, Tene!
Tenebrae was -very- glad; it was the right spell, by the look of things, great smoking holes bursting in the beasts' manky hide, the creature howling loud enough to wake a dozen villages. "Leo!" She hadn't seen him slip, too busy with the canta, but now caught glimpse of flailing limb and heard his cry. She began the scramble down the tree, the cursed blade on her mind as she prayed to all Darkness Leo had his own knives handy.
Leoxander had lost his own blades, but with one hand keeping the creature's maw from crushing his face in a bite, the other patted the ground wildly, searching. The Lycan had pawed away one of Tenebrae's silver blades, and it was mere luck that a fingerless gloved hand closed around cold metal, making an attempt to defend himself with one of her twin blades.
Thea looks to the fallen werewolf, thinking to herself what a waste. He was rather cute when he growled after all.
Leoxander felt the beast's weight crash down on him as silver struck home, where necessary, to end the werewolf's panted breathing. Unable to hold that massive frame up, his arms buckled, buried in fur and blood.
Tenebrae was, by then, back on the ground; too late to help much in the killing, but there for the aftermath. Grasping the werewolf's massive scruff, she hauled the corpse back and to the side, revealing a very bloody Leoxander below. She knelt at his side. "Leo?"
Tenebrae turns to Thea, ever grateful for her friend's assistance in battle. "Thanks, pix, you're a legend." She saw no irony in that. "Might you give us a hand here, see if he's okay?"
Leoxander pushed upright once he could, hands fumbling for grip in the dirt, spitting some gray wolf hair out of his mouth with his mask lost in the battle. His eyes lift to Thea, finally, shaking off Tenebrae's concern with a wave of hand. Jack approaches warily, keeping his distance from the dead beast. "I'm okay, I'm okay... S'it dead?" Duo colored eyes widen on the fallen furry frame near.
Tenebrae jabbed the thing with one of the fallen knives. "Yup. As a doornail." She flopped down in the gore and dirt, to rest beside Leo, grinning happily. "Well that's what you get for insinuating that I'm boring...."
Leoxander wiped the back of his tattooed arm across his mouth, hair matted with wolf blood and in his eyes. He nods a thanks to the pixie probably still in the trees, unfamiliar with who she is, but she appeared to have helped and saved his arse and all that. Sitting there a moment, his eyes venture over the huge beast. "You gonna skin it or somethin'? Doesn't look like it's carryin' much of value."
Tenebrae glanced to the stinking, smoking, blackfire-scorched pelt. Then back to Leo. "I don't think so." She wrinkled her nose. "Anyway, 'twas just a bit of fun." She leant against his shoulder momentarily, head cast back, dazzling smile on. Cheeky, Tene was at times.
Leoxander leaned against the necromancer slightly in return, still catching his breath from the rush of having one's mortal life flash before his eyes. He reached over pulling a couple blades from the body with a jerk of his arm, handing those of silver back toward the woman calmly.
Thea nods, "He looks alright to me, Tene. Well..if you'll excuse me.." Thea exits south.
Tenebrae peered through the greenery, waving the pixie farewell, before taking her knives back. "Oh, by the way. That was Thea. She's a good sort, should get to know her. Drinks like a pickled fish and could strip the hide from a dragon with her tongue when she's cross." The two women were alike in many ways, there was no doubt.
Leoxander draped his arms on his knees with a slouch, sitting in the middle of that forest still covered in beast blood. With boots planting beneath him, he stands, sheathing one found blade, his free hand reaching down to her to offer aid to her feet.
Tenebrae took the hand, rough leathered palm meeting her smooth one, and let him yank her to her feet. Peridot eyes appraise him. "You seriously need a bath."
Leoxander locked his grasp with hers to do just that, pulling her frame up easily, releasing to reach up to his hair, where some wolf saliva was probably matted at the back. His head dipped in a nod. "Yeah. You're right." Unfortunately not many noble or expensive bath houses allowed his type passed the doors. The ocean was second best.
Tenebrae sighed a little, looking south. "I could use a drink. They have a bath upstairs at Mesthak's. Scented soap and all." She grinned to Leo. "I'll pay."
Leoxander recovered his other blade from beneath a large paw, twice the size of his own thieving hands, at least. It was holstered at a hip and in a few steps, the bow he'd carried was sought out to be hooked over a shoulder as well. "Let's get the hell outta this forest."
Tenebrae tidied herself quickly, jogging into the forest. "Race you!" would be all he heard, as she dashed into the dark.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 7:21:12 GMT -5
Leoxander wiped his blade on the thigh of his pants to clean it, crouching to pluck a few coins from the bloody mess left behind. It was the first time he'd taken his eyes off her all night. "Why do you bother with these things, anyhow?" A foot turned over the limp corpse after he stood. "They can't possibly reward someone like you. I figured you'd have your eye set on... larger prey."
Tenebrae wiped her blade on the robe of the corpse, sheathing it again. The vampiress was learning a thing or two from Leo, and was soon knelt down, fingers picking through the creatures' belongings. "Eww." Her fingers clasped something oddly slimy in one fold in the robe. "I don't envy you, sometimes, pet. I'm positive that was a slug, just then." At least, she hoped it had been. Standing, she watched the rogue quietly a moment. Sometimes, she could swear ... But Tene shook her head, stepping toward an upturned half-barrel that sat by a shop door nearby. "I see you managed the bath alright."
Leoxander had indeed. Though his attire wasn't perfection, at least those messy blonde strands weren't caked in dirt and blood. His features were even clean now that the mask had been removed, save the subtle lines of scars from claw marks, and stubborn freckles. "Yeah, I did. I was kinda hopin' you'd join me at some point. But I imagine you got caught up with your devoted public once you stepped foot in the tavern."
Tenebrae was, indeed, learning from Leo -- the art of question-dodging being a prime example of his role as mentor. Only the dark look given the corpses might hint at the reason for her hatred of the things.
Leoxander didn't even flinch with that bold statement. He stood, pocketing what little was found easily.
Tenebrae just grinned, turning her head as though seeking another goblin, her blush hidden. A good feed earlier meant a nice shade of crimson, too.
Leoxander stood back, crossing his arms over his chest, making no move to help the woman this time, despite that he saw a pair with this nuisance, as well. It was an excuse to watch her in action, anyhow.
Tenebrae was nought but a monochromatic blur as she took to the pair, sword left to her back as she grasped the startled beings' throats and thrust their skulls together, hard. A sickening crack ensued, and then two more as she wrung their necks. Dropping the bodies, casually, she wandered back to her barrel, hands wiping against each other.
Leoxander couldn't resist the soft smirk that tugged onto the edge of his mouth, gloved hands flexing to creak the leather over scarred knuckles. When she returned, though, one hand would drop to the mask tucked into his belt, removing it, offering the cloth her way to wipe his hands on. It would give him an excuse not to wear it, for now. And look, the rogue was being a gentleman... sort of.
Tenebrae reached for it, her look quizzical as she did so, 'til the reason dawned on her. She wiped her hands, her gaze cast to her fingers as they straightened the cloth after. "I ... uh." Rather inarticulate.
Leoxander narrowed his eyes slightly, his hand twisting with a grip at one end of that bandana, reeling it in by wrapping it once around his knuckles. She could either let go, or reach closer to come with it. "You what?" Since she could see his mouth, his jaw, she'd see the quiet, thoughtful compression of his lips, teeth slightly grit to define chiseled edges.
Tenebrae did not release the cloth, finding her words as she was drawn closer. "I am buying a boat."
Leoxander 's expression melted into a grin, and because he'd neared the wall to watch her goblin slaying, he could lean back against it slightly, to slouch. Head tilted down to fix his stare on hers, the distance between the tip of her nose and his still wouldn't be extremely far. "Is that so?" Leoxander didn't even smell so thickly of the usual alcohol, tonight. Perhaps that would explain his decent shots...
Tenebrae said, "Mhm." She looked rather pleased with herself. "You know a bit about boats don't you?" She turned her gaze toward the tattoos adorning his arms, noting the arms themselves had thickened somewhat lately. "I'm afraid ...well you've seen me. I'm hopeless on the water."
Leoxander was bold tonight, maybe it was because he was sober. It coulda been the lack of blood, the time spent together, a lotta things. His hand twisted the fabric in his hand again if she still held it, noticing her dropped gaze. Ink was faded, scarred, not that well done in the first place, all the time. Some of them were received while drunk, artist and sailor alike, after all. "So... what the hell'd you buy a boat for?" He was still grinnin'.
Tenebrae tilted her head, eyes meeting his again. "Haven't yet, but the builders are on it and the first of the money's down." She looked again to those tattoos. "It'll be our home. Me and Caste."
Leoxander assumed she released the cloth but if not, it would be swiftly tugged out of her hands, at that point. One jerk of that fabric should catch enough surprise to do so easily. It would be replaced into his belt, and his head leaned back. "Yours. You and... Caste. Castellian..." He murmured the name deeply, duo colored eyes driftly cooly over her shoulder. "Won't that be nice." He didn't speak that like a question.
Leoxander pulled the bow from his torso slowly, his eyes still lingering over Tenebrae's shoulder.
Tenebrae 's hands were suddenly bereft of the bandana, and her eyes of any light they'd held. Leo's sudden withdrawal - for that's the way she felt it, like the snap of something retracted abruptly - left her lips pale. "I was ... I was hoping you'd show me the ropes." Her tone left the end of it flattened, dead, no expectation in the inflection.
Leoxander deftly unclipped shoulder armor enough to shift spikes out of the way, reaching over for a random arrow from the small quiver latched back there. His eyes didn't return to hers. "Maybe, though you couldn't hide in the cargo hold and learn the ropes at the same time." No usual smirk came at that point. Instead, he stepped aside just enough to make room, and clear aim. "Y'know, somethin' tells me good ol' Caste won't much like me knockin' on the door to your 'new home' to ask if 'Tene' can come out n' play." Now the smirk came. No, not just a smirk, a grin. The bowstring was pulled back with blue eye squinting.
Leoxander fired just one arrow. It pegged into and clear through the goblin's skull, between the eyes. Muscles along his arms relaxed with the bow lowered.
Tenebrae watched the slaughter with little of her usual pleasure, though Leo's proficiency with that marvellous bow was pleasing enough. After, she remained silent a while, before replying. "I was also hoping you and Caste would ... somehow get along." It sounded stupid, even as she spoke it. But on she went. "He's a good man, Leo. A bit stuffy, being a noble and all, but there's few as good as he." She tried a smile. "You're in that minority, in my eyes, you know."
Leoxander had his rare... rare moments of seriousness. The bow was lowered, however, and he watched blood ooze out of the skull torn through with an arrow, like some sick fascination. Anywhere to look but those peridot eyes. "But I can't tie a ribbon around this world and put it in your pocket..." The muse-like murmur was quiet, almost to himself, subtle meaning behind words that could have been... confusing. "That's a noble's job." Finally, as if involving her in that one sided conversation, he looked up her way. "Get along..? Do you think that's possible?" He wasn't being sarcastic, nor optimistic, but he seemed curious of her opinion, her answer to that.
Tenebrae had been worrying her lip with her teeth a bit, as he spoke. Her eyes regained something of their sparkle, but that light wasn't coming from inside. Moonlight had a way of reflecting on moisture. His first words, softly spoken, were like little daggers each, though she didn't understand why. She simply nodded at the remainder. "You two are more alike than you know. And both of you ..." A breath was taken. "Are a goodly portion of what's right with my world. I couldn't bear it if ... " And that was where she trailed off, turning to look at the impaled skull of his kill.
Leoxander wasn't naive. Or stupid. Especially about that world. A silent laugh in his chest and a slight shake of his head made it obvious he was trying to be gentle about the subject. He certainly didn't want to shatter her world, or hopes. "C'mon, Tene'... You described him. Proud, noble, drow. How do you think he's gonna look at me?" Duo colored eyes flicked her way in a glance, and he picked up his arrow to knock it again, giving him something to do. Leoxander aimed and released another arrow, landing this one through the thing's shoulder. Another fired quickly after it skimmed along cobblestone, fired hard enough to drag the small body a few feet back, dead before it hit the ground.
Tenebrae looked back, crystalline eyes shadowed. "The same way he looks at me." She frowned. "Well, alright, not quite the same way." A feeble attempt at humour, but something had to break this awful tension. "Leo, I'm from the streets, no better than one of those grubby kids you see filching pennies from beggars 'round here." She'd been one of them once, though in another place. "Caste isn't one to judge a person by what they have, or haven't, anymore than I am." She looked to him. "I didn't think you were the type, either."
Leoxander merely shrugged his shoulders as he lowered the bow, his attitude seeming as casual and careless as ever. "We'll see..." It was about then that Jack could be spotted, by better-than-human eyes, anyhow, down the road, sniffing out the rogue. "So you're makin' me first mate then, right? I ain't handlin' the cabin boy duties, so don't even think about it... " The subject was obviously being changed. "She gotta name, yet?"
Tenebrae blinked a little. "She...?" The question, interrupted by the arrival of Jack, at whom she smiled a little. "Who do you mean?"
Leoxander watched Jack trot near, ears perked, as if interested in the conversation he'd apparently missed. "The ship, of course." Okay, so the pirate had a tendancy to treat boats a little like how car lovers treated their machines. They had genders, spirits.
Tenebrae 's lips made a small 'o' as he explained, the vampiress nodding. "I understand now." Now she knew -one- thing, about boats, apart from the fact that they floated. Most of the time. She couldn't hold back a little shiver at the thought. "And I have no idea what a first mate does, but if you want to be it, I suppose that's alright. I'll have to ask Caste, of course ..." And there was Jack, and she kneeling to scruffle his shaggy black neck.
Leoxander lowered his gaze her way at the last of her words, hearing the name again. Leo knew the saying. Two's a company, three's a crowd. There was no question in his mind who number three would be passed to, if the two didn't get along. "He'd be coming along, too, then..? Looks like I'd best forget my plans of seadrift rendezvous." He'd watch Jack's attempt to lick the woman, and spot the look given from canine, to human. It made him smirk a little more.
Tenebrae glanced up at him, the familiar wickedness of grin returning. "Jack? Of course he could come along. Wouldn't be the same without him." She released the dog, who seemed eager to be by Leo, anyhow. She didn't address the last part.
Leoxander said to you, "I meant Castellian." He watched the guy walk by and eviscerate the goblin. Was that something shiny on the ground?
Leoxander leaned against the wall, hands sliding into his pockets, save when Jack would wander near enough the human companion for a scratch between the ears. He looked over his shoulder, toward the alley that led to Memorial Avenue. Wasn't long till the sun was up, anyhow.
Tenebrae stood, she too eyeing the sky. It was, of course, a myth that vampires burst into flames in sunlight. But they didn't much like to walk in it anyways. "I think I'll go to the pub, a while."
Leoxander lowered his gaze her way, and surprisingly, he made no move to don his mask and follow her. He just leaned there, not far from his dog. "I guess I'll check up on you later, then... 'Mistress'..."
Tenebrae smiled, softly, at the title and turned away, disappearing over the rise of the road and darkness trailing her every step.
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